'Pakistan receiving more remittances during PTI's government'

PESHAWAR: Adviser to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Finance Muzammil on Saturday said that Pakistan recorded a 3.12 billion dollar remittance during the last months of the PTI government in 2022.

Muzammil Aslam said that, after the onset of the new government and taking charge of Shehbaz Sharif as Prime Minister, remittance decreased by five billion dollars in just one year.

“It a surprising how a PM congratulated the nation for the 3 billion dollars in remittances amounted recently”, he added.

“If the income of the 2 million people who have recently left the country is not considered, the remittances might not even reach 2.3 billion dollars.”.

The KP finance adviser expressed concerns over the unemployment rate in the country and said people are leaving country for better opportunities.

On the other hand, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported 29% increase in remittances in December 2024 compared to December 2023, with inflows reaching 3.10 billion dollars.

According to SBP, remittances in December also showed a 6% growth compared to November 2024.

The report further highlighted that during the first six months of the fiscal year (July-December 2024), remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis totalled 17.80 billion dollars, reflecting a 33% year-on-year increase.

The central bank on December 10, reported that the workers’ remittances increased by 33.6 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.